Three years ago, Kim Mordue lost her son Lloyd to a fatal run in with the party drug GHB. Kim’s husband runs a tattoo parlor, and together they’ve found a way to deal with her grief with ink. Lloyd’s ashes have been mixed with tattoo ink, and used to give Kim a new tat. When asked about the tattoo, she had the following to say:

As soon as I knew it was possible, I wanted to have the ashes tattoos as a tribute to him. Now, he’ll be with me for the rest of my life.

The tattoo shows a cabala tree, an angel, and a poem dedicated to Lloyd’s memory. We’re honestly not sure whether this is a touching story, or a slightly morbid one… or maybe both. What do you think?

Anyone who watches Futurama knows that one day, people won’t be interested in any sort of art that isn’t tattooed on a fat guy. For now though, we’ll have to settle for an art exhibit called Tatau: Samoan Tattooing/Global Culture. The exhibit showcases the photography of one of New Zealand’s finest photographers, Mark Adams. Adams took a series of photos featuring tattoo art created by Paulo Sulu’ape, Samoa’s most famous tattoo artist. The exhibit is on display at Cambridge University’s Museum until September 25th.

On November 24th 2009, visitors to the Pitt Street Mall in Sydney Australia witnessed what may very well be the best PETA protest of all time. Tattooed model Dani Lugosi went for a stroll in the mall wearing nothing but a sign that said “Ink not mink” . Her goal was to draw attention to all of the hardship and suffering animals on fur farms go through just so people can have fur coats, but we’re guessing she actually drew more attention to what was underneath the sign then what was on it.

Everyone is looking for new ways to go green, and save the planet. One clever tattoo artist managed to harness the awesome power of the sun to power his tattoo gun for a short time. While the solar powered tattoo gun didn’t last long, it did work just long enough to get through a small, simple tattoo. We look forward to future revisions on the design that allow for more longevity. Hey, the only thing better than getting a new tattoo is getting a new tattoo outside on a sunny day.

If you lost a bet, and were consequently forced to get a Twilight-themed tattoo, you might be able to turn your misfortune into internet fame and fortune. According to an AOL Seed listing, Moviefone is looking for tattoos inspired by the Twilight Saga to publish on their site. If your tat is chosen, not only will you gain all the fame and glory that comes with being published on Moviefone (we don’t know just how much fame and / or glory that is, but we bet it’s a lot), but you’ll also score twenty bucks! So get out the camera, and start taking some pics. While you’re at it, why not send us a pic of your tattoo?

If you’ve been putting off that back tattoo because of the price, we’d like to introduce you to Minki van der Westhuizen. She recently spent eight long hours having 612 Shimansky diamonds encrusted onto her back with a water based adhesive. That $400 back tattoo you’ve been putting off doesn’t hold a candle to the $924,000 in diamonds it took to create this diamond studded piece of body art. We sincerely hope she likes sleeping on her side, because from here on out, sleeping on her back is probably going to be very uncomfortable.

Each year, gang related violence kills over 600 people. Denver tattoo artist Chris “Lil’ Devil” Klein is doing his part to help former gang members escape that dangerous lifestyle by donating his time to cover up their gang tattoos. Several years back, a friend of Klein’s had a hit put on him. The gang members sent to fulfill that hit had been given detailed descriptions of Klein’s friend’s forearm tattoo of a brick wall with an X on it. After seeing just how identifiable a tattoo can be, Klein decided to donate his time to gang members looking for a fresh start. By helping people get rid of their gang tattoos, Chris Klein is helping them secure a brighter future for themselves and their loved ones. Keep up the good work, Lil’ Devil!

Anyone with diabetes knows just how irritating it can be to prick your finger several times a day to make sure your blood sugar is at an acceptable level. Researchers at MIT have come up with an awesome alternative: tattoo ink that measures blood sugar. That’s right, thanks to glucose sensitive nanoparticles in the ink, checking your blood sugar could be as simple as getting a sweet tat, and waving an infrared light over it a few times a day. The nanoparticles in the ink react to the glucose in your blood, and they will fluoresce under a special light, which can be worn by the patient like a wrist watch. The only drawback (or maybe the best feature depending on how you look at it) is that the ink dissolves after about six months, leaving you without your tattoo. Depending on your perspective, you either get to, or have to get a new tattoo at that point. Even with that one issue, an awesome tattoo is still a far better way to keep your diabetes in check than the currently available methods.